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Hello everyone,

An advise first: I made the experience that it is always more efficient and safe to start with the lowest possible dose of a new supplement, then increase gradually over months and years. And better start with one agent at a time.

You could catch an always possible allergic reaction early on, and not as severe as at full dose. Which also could come from other ingredients in a supplement. And are able to rectify the offender right away.

You will know at exactly which dose what effect to expect. There could be a marked U-curve response, and sometimes more is not better. If it still would be, you'll find the exact effective dose eventually. And don't waste your money.

Increasing one nutrient to high dose will invariably increase the need for others involved with the same metabolic pathway. By increasing slowly you'll catch them early on, were they are still easier to correct.

Supplementing with many chronic diseases and biochemical-individuality is a life-long project. You don't take the pills and you're done. You probably will adjust it for the rest of your life. Because specific deficiencies will have improved, and other worsened. So take your time to find the most effective protocol for your preconditions and situation.

..was diagnosed a peripheral arterial disease (PAD) due to a 80% blockage at my abdominal aorta bifurcation almost 9 years ago.

Only medical option given to improve intermittent claudication - merely 3-400 m pain-free walking distance at worse - was a surgical replacement of my whole Y-shaped aorta with tubes made out of Goretex-like material. Additionally aspirin and statin for my whole life. Was also told, however much greens I would eat additional to these surgical and pharmaceutical interventions, my probable 5-year mortality would nevertheless remain at 30%. 41 at that time.

After a risk-benefit analysis I went the other way: meticulously analyzed my diet, eliminated added sugar, and once I crossed into the therapeutic range of Linus Pauling's recommendations for CVD after almost one 1 year, my pain-free walking distance gradually improved to 1 hour. 2 hrs the second year. At that time starting to implement recommendations by Dr. William Davis of the 'TrackYourPlaque' forum too.

The whole third year I suffered from a persistent chronic bronchitis, with a relapse down to 1/2 hour walking distance again. Took some months of at the South-Indian sea and incorporated many Ayurvedic remedies since than, as well as taking my yearly vacations each time during winters there. Bronchitis cleared up first. And at the beginning of the 6th year, though with in many respect worse lab results, intermittent claudication symptoms have completely gone for the first time during all these years.

All I've been left have been typical Chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms: Exhaustion, concentration difficulties and back pain after more than 5 hours (mental) work a day, needing 10 hours of sleep. And all 3 debilitating symptoms if I don't stay with my limitations till the next full day, when I can spend at rest for recovery (postexcertional malaise, PEM).

With a very complex previous medical history:

Pneumonia at birth, fever seizures with 2, meningitis with 7, X-ray found tubercle with 20, Palmoplantar pustular psoriasis, only 12 teeth remaining at age 29 (due to tetracycline treatment as new-born), 7 malaria attacks (4 of which the at times deathly falciparum), amoebic hepatitis (enlarged liver), spondilodiscitis and rhinitis.
2 years before my PAD diagnosis a very stressful job (which I quit just before the diagnosis), schistosomiasis, cystitis, a myopericarditis, and finally my first root-canal (without giving permission!). With the chronic bronchitis I also got a diagnosis of COPD (symptom-free after the bronchitis) and T2D (controlled with diet, which I would rather classify as prediabetes).

That's what Linus Pauling recommended in his '86 book:

How to Live Longer and Feel Better

Take vitamin C every day, 6 grams to 18 g (6000 to 18,000 milligrams), or more. Do not miss a single day.

Take vitamin E every day, 400 IU, 800 IU, or 1600 IU.

Take one or two Super-B tablets every day, to provide good amounts of the B-vitamins.

Take 25,000 IU vitamin A tablet every day.

Take a mineral supplement every day, such as one tablet of the Bronson vitamin-mineral formula, which provides 100 mg of calcium, 18 mg of iron, 0.15 mg of iodine, 1 mg of copper, 25 mg of magnesium, 3 mg of manganese, 15 mg of zinc, 0.015 mg of molybdenum, 0.015 mg of chromium, and 0.015 mg of selenium.

Keep your intake of ordinary sugar (sucrose, raw sugar, brown sugar, honey) to 50 pounds per year, which is half the present U.S. average. Do not add sugar to tea or coffee. Do not eat high-sugar foods. Avoid sweet desserts. Do not drink soft drink.

Except for avoiding sugar, eat what you like - but not too much of any one food. Eggs and meat are good foods. Also you should eat some vegetables and fruits. Do not eat so much food as to become obese.

Drink plenty of water every day.

Keep active; take some exercise. Do not at any time exert yourself physically to an extent far beyond what you are accustomed to.

Drink alcoholic beverages only in moderation.

Do not smoke cigarettes.

Avoid stress. Work at a job that you like. Be happy with your family.

PS: can't help but add another Linus advise here: 'always listen to advise, but never believe blindly'

Additionally recommended l-lysine at 6 g/d for CVD. I'm sure nowadays he would include vitamin D3, K2, more magnesium, CoQ10 and some other amino acids too. Also only took the low dose for vitamin E he recommends (balanced with other tocopherols and tocotrienols), and the dose for vitamin A I reached only recently, when I found it would help with my infrequent psoriasis outbreaks.

Dr. Davis recommendations have been basically:

TrackYourPlaque

Identifying of all causes, adaptation of strategies, and continuous evaluation through extensive laboratory and coronary calcium score testing

Individual reduction of carbohydrates by singling out most offending by testing postprandial blood-glucose responses

Things that I started on faith and showed noticeable effects (updated):

Vitamin C - after a PAD diagnosis almost 9 years ago, together with lysine and all other nutrients recommended by Linus Pauling - pain-free walking distance improved from mere 3-400 meters up to 2 hours. But only once I exceeded the in his view minimal therapeutic dose of 6 g/d each. Side-benefits: a since 2 years persistent skin-rush cleared up, hay-fever symptoms recurring every spring since 15 years got alleviated. HbA1c stayed disproportionally low, compared to higher blood glucose. A cystitis circumscripta of the bladder disappeared. Truly addictive stuff for someone with my health-issues. Only negative side-effect: flatulence.

Chondroitin Sulfate - though not taken consistently as recommended here, after some months on about 5 g/d my intermittent symptoms from PAD completely ceased. And a 60% government-certified walking disability due to that has been revoked since!

CoQ10 - some years before supplementing I always got angina-like chest pain under conditions of persisting stress (mental or physical). Above 150 mg/d CoQ10 (or half that with Ubiqunol) it's gone. However, whenever I drop below that intake the chest-pain is back - now without any stress.

Magnesium - with a severe deficiency I immediately get muscle-cramps without (now at 2.4 g/d elemental, of about 1,6 g/d for 9 years in average). With the higher dose my blood glucose readings came down and infrequent retinal migraine ceased.

Vitamin A - from 24.000 IU onward prevented any further psoriasis outbreaks.

Vitamin B3, Nicotinic acid - strong vasodilation effects with tingling, heat and reddened skin for about 20 minutes with multiples gram doses. Initially not pleasant at all, but by getting used to much milder. Intended for improving lipids, especially more difficult one's, like raising HDL or lowering Lp(a). However, beside taxing the liver again (much less though than sustained-release Niacin), with a already weakened liver (from Malarias and their treatment), I could see with each rise/fall of liver enzymes an responding change in lipids-numbers (deterioration/improving). Worsening of liver-enzymes counteracted with other supplements.

Potassium Iodide - once made the experiment if I could handle the 130 mg iodide recommended in the case of a nuclear emergency without going hyper. Within 10 days gradually increased from my usual intake of 10 mg/d up to 100 mg, where I run out of it. Energetically felt better every day.

Melatonin - makes me sleepy and thereby improves circadian rhythm.

Lycopene, Astaxanthin and other Carotenoids - suspect them to be responsible that I haven't had any sun-burns since supplementing almost 9 years now. And for halting the rapid decline of my eyesight.

Biotin - suspect it having been responsible for fuller hair, thiner after substantially reducing the dose again.

Piracetam and Sulbutiamine - though only low dose initially also caused a spaced-out feeling. But much easier socializing, speech-fluency and focus as remaining effects.

To summarize - through the synergistic effects of lifestyle modifications, nutrient and herbal extract supplementation it was possible:

first of all - to reverse a 60% walking disability from PAD

reverse a cystitis circumscripta of the bladder

.. 2 non-circulated nodules on the right edge of the liver (5 + 8mm)

.. one additional tubercle (6mm) of the left lung; the older of the right lung (9mm) remaining

.. and a chronic bronchitis, while the at that time diagnosed COPD remained asymptomatic

keep prediabetes, hay-fever,

.. muscle-cramps and CKD stage 1 in check

cease psoriasis and retinal migraine flare-ups,

.. and angina-like chest pains

provide sun-burn protection without suncream

but overall staying still alive and able to come up for my own living counter the prediction of my initially diagnosing internist

Only left to work on are CFS symptoms..

Since it would probably take me days to enter my actual regimen with up to 500 ingredients (dietary and supplemental), something much more accurate: All that as it changed over the 8 years - click the below link for the detailed regimen -

I always would start with the lowest possible doses and increase gradually over the years. While doing actual lab-tests to see critical nutrients stay in range.

I always thought health is the highest and can't be bought with money. To a certain extent I revised my opinion. I actually did it, with lots of determination and while keeping my ability to work part-time ..but am broke now.

Below all supplements in the grams per day range down to a half. Which are just average intakes for the last 9 years, and not recommendations (see my advises in red again). For all other important vitamins, minerals, herbals and phyto-chemicals, see the Google spreadsheet linked to above.

Obligatory disclaimer for Orwellian times: “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease.”

Meanwhile could get a 50% disability due to the CFS/ME symptoms again. Helps with yearly tax returns due to high health expenses.

For that reevaluation the investigating Neurologist ordered a brain MRI, which found an old stroke in the left cerebellum. Therefore, one more potentially deathly condition not only survived, but not even mentioned its occurrence. ..thought it a miracle to have already outlived the 30% five-year mortality prediction from PAD, but now additional a much worse 50% one-year mortality with stroke!

Chondroitin Sulfate - though not taken consistently as recommended here, after some months on about 5 g/d my intermittent symptoms from PAD completely ceased. And a 60% government-certified walking disability due to that has been revoked since!

When further analyzing which intakes have at least 30% increased during the 8 months before this substantial improvement - compared relative to my average intakes during these 9 years (leaving out Ayurvedics, since they all been added later and therefore all higher):

And at the beginning of the 6th year, though with in many respect worse lab results, intermittent claudication symptoms have completely gone for the first time during all these years.

...To summarize - through the synergistic effects of lifestyle modifications, nutrient and herbal extract supplementation it was possible: ...

Interestingly, right after the time intermittent claudication ceased I came across the work of Kelly A. Turner, which summarized pretty well for me in a different context the different realms of lifestyle-modifications possibly involved. Since my stack doesn't talks much beyond point 4 of this list - and supplements alone are definitely not enough against severe chronic conditions - I add her whole list here:

During the course of the study, Kelly identified more than seventy-five factors that cancer survivors said they used as a part of their healing journey. Nine of these factors were used by almost every one of them. They are as follows:

2. Take control of healthAction is the basic key to success (Pablo Picasso)- actively participate- be prepared for change- resolve resistance

3. Follow your own intuitionIn vital matters, the decision should come from the unconscious, somewhere from within (Sigmund Freud)- listen to body signals- activate the intuition- find the right change

5. Release oppressed emotionsAnger is an acid which can cause much greater damage to the vessel in which it is stored than to what it pours (Mark Twain)- disease is blockade- what are suppressed emotions?- stress and cancer- anxiety and cancer- the waterfall solution

6. Enhance positive emotionsThe meaning of life is to be happy (Dalai Lama)- what are positive emotions?- what are the positive emotions in the body?- happiness must be practiced daily- but one does not have to be permanently happy

7. Allow social supportIn poverty and misery, friends are the only refuge (Aristotle)- experience love- do not feel alone- physical contact

8. Deepen the spiritual connectionThis is the greatest mistake in the treatment of diseases: that there are doctors for the body and physicians for the soul, where both can not be separated (Plato)- experience spirituality- a third kind of love- the relationship between the physical and the spiritual- it is important to exercise regularly- it is important to calm the mind

9. Have strong reasons for lifePeople say that it is the meaning of life that we all seek. I do not believe that this is what we are really looking for. I believe what we are looking for is an experience of being alive ... (Joseph Campbell)- placing deep trust in one's inner being- the mind directs the body- find one's calling

This April I finally quit one of my two part-time jobs, because it has become merely a stick it out feat, and below devastating effects didn't change even half an hour in working-ability or sleeping needs all these years:

All I've been left have been typical Chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms: Exhaustion, concentration difficulties and back pain after more than 5 hours (mental) work a day, needing 10 hours of sleep. And all 3 debilitating symptoms if I don't stay with my limitations till the next full day, when I can spend at rest for recovery (postexcertional malaise, PEM).

But moreover left me with almost nothing of a social- or pleasurable life. Except for my yearly 6 weeks vacation. Only since about 2 weeks now, my sleeping-need seem to have gone down to about 9 hours daily without my usual bad after-effects. Which, after all that stagnation in this respect for many years, seems a really good (though tiny) step in a better direction. Glad I quit that job and enjoyed almost daily sweating in the sun, swimming in a cool river, and so much more leisure time this summer.